Ahmet Ertegun introduces the Allman Brothers

"I first met Duane Allman on some of our sessions with Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, and the late, great King Curtis, who became one of Duane's closest friends. In the heyday of the group Cream, when Eric Clapton was in his psychedelic period, dressed in multi-colored garb, face painted, bleached hair, almost like a clown, I took Eric to an Aretha session at the Atlantic Studios here in New York. Aretha broke into hysterical laughter when she saw Eric and his weird clothes. I introduced him over laughter to Aretha, and to Duane Allman, who was in the band, and once Eric and Duane began to play together behind Aretha, all the laughter stopped. A year or so later, Duane joined Eric on the historic Derek and the Dominos "Layla" sessions that Tommy Dowd, Gerry, and I recorded in Miami. Duane was a giant among blues guitarists and a tear-ass soloist. When he and his brother Gregg formed their great band, first the Allman Joys, and then the Allman Brothers, with Dickie Betts, Berry Oakley, Jaimoe, and Butch Trucks, managed by Phil Walton of Macon, Georgia, an Otis Redding fan, they were the quintessential Southern Rock band, and their music reverberated around the world. Berry and Duane are gone, but their music lives on. The Allman Brothers Band, with Gregg, and Dickie Betts, and company, as we see, are still going strong, and continuing the legacy of great Southern blues and rock music."